The Cost
by Shadow's Nocturne
Summary: The final battle with Grima. Takes a rather grotesque turn. My first fanfic so no flames plz. Review if you liked or review and tell me what you disliked. Constructive criticism is appreciated. T for intense gore.


They all died. Every single one of them died that day. Callous Henry, headstrong Vaike, intelligent Miriel; not a single one survived. Well, no one except the least likely candidate. This might give you a mushy feeling, and not the comfortable one. (Anna and Tiki are not included, as are the Spotpass characters, and the only children included are Lucina and Morgan.

The first to go down was Lissa. The Risen Wyvern Lords flew in circles around her. She blasted one out of the sky with a spell, but soon they were upon her. She was hacked apart by their merciless axes. Sumia attempted to fly to her aid but was shot out of the sky and plummeted to the earth. Frederick was a beast, decimating dozens of Risen. He saw a chance to attack Grima and lept upon it. He swept his axe at Grimas arm, but he dodged the swipe with contempt. He grabbed Frederick and threw him towards the dragons maw. The fell dragon swallowed Frederick whole. Sully was overwhelmed and hacked to death not soon after. Virion saw his wife hacked to pieces before him. He went into a berserker-like rage and was shooting so rapid and accurately that he could have conpeted with Legolas XD. His time came when he realized he had run out of arrows. A throwing axe removed his head clean off of his shoulders.

Vaike and Frederick were holding the main line alongside Chrom and Henry. "Son of a bitch!" he exclaimed as he saw Frederick get devoured. He swung his dual axes in a spin of death. They were slowly driven back by Grima's vanguard forces.

Chrom grit his teeth. "This isnt good. We need to press forwards." He glanced at Henry, who was smiling despite their situation. Suddenly, he felt an arrow hit him in the chest. He looked up in surprise, and his eyes widened as another arrow hit him in the neck. "Lu-Cina..." he gargled as blood squirted from his neck.

Cordelia screamed in despair. They had lost their leader. What were they to do now? She knew the answer in her heart. She picked up her lance and charged. She inspired the men to fight, and they made considerable progress. She made one huge error though She repeated Fredericks mistake and charged at Grima. He may have been her husband in a different future but not in this one. The beast in front of her was not her husband. He killed her pegasus with Expiration and she tumbled to the ground in front of him. She wasn't dead yet, though.

Ricken saw Cordelia in trouble and tried to run to her aid. He was nearly chopped in half, but Gregor pulled him out of harm's way. He was about to thank Gregor when he was lit afire by an enemy Sage. Gregor was enraged by this, and charged the Sage. But the Risen were taking the Shepherd's tactics as their own. After all, the same man was commanding their forces. Another Sage came out of nowhere and blew Gregor off the back of the fell dragon. Miriel was impaled by a javelin, and the spell she was planning on casting to aid Gregor went haywire, blasting Stahl's horse from under him.

The last thing Stahl had expected was that. He immediately got up and silently thanked Robin for making him practice with Lon'Qu. He was still fearsome off of his horse, but was unable to fight to his max. He threw the sword like a javelin at a Paladin, and took his horse. Now he was back in the comfort zone. "Oh Gods no..." he muttered as he saw Gregor falling. He looked for his wife immediately. Panne was nowhere to be seen. He kept on fighting, albeit with fear for Panne.

Panne's beaststone crumbled in front of her. She had already disarmed her foe, and they were wrestling each other. The Risen clamped on her neck and tore out her throat. She died the way she had killed.

Maribelle was saving Henry when she died. She saw an arrow flying at him, and threw herself before him. For the first time, Henry didn't smile. He let out a roar of rage, and took out Goetia, a tome he had been saving for a time like this. He performed the impossible: the risen were RETREATING before his torrent of death. Vaike was covering his back.

Robin had failed. He was supposed to guide his friends to victory, not death. He threw himself onto his blade, believing that Cordelia was dead.

Kellam was pinned down by Entombed and was torn piece by piece apart. Lon'Qu was trapped. Grima had gone directly for him. He decimated the swordsman without difficulty.

Gaius was fighting alongside Nowi. He couldnt believe his shitty luck. The sword had shattered. He looked around and saw Chrom's dead body, and Falchion not far from it. He rolled towards it and attempted to pick it up. The blade resisted for a moment then glowed. It had chosen its next wielder. Gaius turned back and to check on Nowi. He saw her revert to human form and fall to the ground as she clawed the last of her foes. She began to stumble backwards. "NOOOOOO!" screamed Gaius as she tumbled off the fell dragon's back. He took a deep breath and ran to the front lines to cover Vaike and Henry.

Libra felt the spear run him through but Naga took pity on him and nulled his pain. Libra died the way he lived, calm and painless.

Tharja sat down. "This is fucking retarded," she muttered. Olivia and she werent allowed to join the final fight. Tharja and Olivia had been injured by Validar. She looked at Olivia. "Now what's the matter?" she complained as she saw Olivia break down and cry.

"Hes dead. I felt it. Chrom has fallen. My husband...my love...is gone..." Tharja put an arm around her to comfort her.

Cherche was starting to feel nervous. Say'ri sensed it."Does something ail you, Cherche?" Cherche shook her head. "So much death. It's not right." They finally finished their task. The space above Grima was free of enemy fliers. Out of nowhere the fell dragon's maw enveloped them. The last thing they saw was Grima's digestive tract.

It was only a few remaining Shepherds and Grima. Donnel was nowhere to be seen, but his death uncomfirmed. The final fighters were Henry, Gaius, Vaike, Stahl, Lucina, and Morgan.

Morgan looked at Grima. "You...you're...my father...from MY time...my real biological father." She felt horrible about fighting him. She couldn't. Despite his atrocities he was her father. However he never gave her a choice. He hit her with Expiration and she screamed in pain as she died.

Lucina couldnt believe it. Everything was falling apart. She and Gaius attacked Grima. Then the fell dragon played its trump card. It rolled around and around and around. Stahl and Henry had no time to find a grip as they were in horseback. Lucina was too distraugt to really hold on with all her will. She joined Stahl and Henry in death. Vaike was only slightly struggling, the reward for all the workouts he had done with Donnel. Gaius felt himself fall and saw the dragon stop rotating as he did. But before he did he dug Falchion deep into the dragon's back.

Vaike found himself back at Grimas tail. He was holding both of his axes, and saw Grima hold on to Cordelia. He wouldn't let that fiend finish her.

Grima couldn't kill her. He still loved her, even as he had betrayed her. Cordelia finally came back to consciousness. "Join me Cordelia. You can be the queen of this world."

Cordelia knew she was dead though. She had suffered many wounds and loss of blood was taking its toll. Her last words? "Fuck...you...!"

Grima gently layed her body. Now was the endgame. Him and the warrior before him. "You have fought well, Vaike. As such I grant you a chance. Shall you become my Lieutenant?"

Vaike spat. "I'd rather blow a Risen." He charged at Grima. Grima attempted to dodge, but Vaikes brute strength and explosive speed caught him off guard. Grima saw his left arm fly off and yelled in pain. he drew his sword in his right hand. He managed to stab right through Vaike's defenses. Vaike went wide-eyed. "I've failed...Tharja...I'm sorry...looks...like...I ain't...coming back home."

Grima began to laugh but suddenly stopped as he saw Falchion protruding from his chest. "THIS IS NOT POSSIBLE! A FARMBOY CANNOT KILL MEEEE!"

Donnel withdrew the blade. "This farmboy is a tad more powerful then ya reckon!" Grima turned around and prepared his sword. "We shall see".

They clashed in a decisive battle. But finally, Donnel prevailed and cut Grimas head off. The fell dragon played its trump card again.

"Nape of the neck...nape of the neck..." he repeated to keep it in mind. He dug Falchion and his silver sword into the dragons back. He used each one as a pick to move around, as if he was climbing and icy wall. He reached the dragons neck and stabbed the nape of it with Falchion. "Go back to sleep-SON OF A BITCH!" Donnel began screaming as he fell through the sky. He hadnt expected the fell dragon to disappear from below him.

Tharja looked up from the screaming and immediately casted a protective spell that gently lowered him down.

They had won, but was the cost worth it?


End file.
